The plan was to head up to the islands and do a loop trip
around San Juan Island. Earlier in the week it looked like the weather
would be nice, sunny but cooler, but later in the week is deteriorated.
We ended up changing plans mostly because I was feeling a bit under the
weather. This ended up being a really nice ride with Steve and we got a
couple of unexpected surprises.

I met Steve down at his place in the Ravenna area of Seattle. Then,
after sorting out the plan, we headed out. We followed NE Ravenna Blvd
and then Ravenna Pl NE to the point in the University District where we
planned to pick up the
Burke
Gilman Trail. First...a side detour to the Saturday Farmer's
Market... I love these local markets, it is the one thing I miss about
living in a bigger city. Steve picked up some cherries and a few tomatos which
meant we needed to head back to his place to drop them off.

Then with the false start behind us, we headed back to the BGT and
followed it up and around the north side of Lake Washington. The BGT is
generally in really good shape. There are a couple of spots where the
pavement is rough but it isn't all that bad. We stayed on the BGT,
crossed the Sammamish River in Bothell than then turned onto the
Sammamish River Trail which heads south into Woodinville and Redmond.
I'd lived off the SRT many years ago when I first moved to the area but
it has been many years since I've ridden the trail. It was nice to see
familiar places. Some things are the same, some things have changed.

Riding south through Woodinville Steve saw the sign on the edge of the
trail at Woodinville Lavender for lavender ice cream. We made a note to
stop on the way back north. We continued south into Redmond to find what
looked like a weekend festival was in play. We later discovered it was
Redmond Derby Days with live music, cycling races, and lots of other
activities going on. We stopped first at Element Cycle in Redmond to
pick up a couple of odds and ends. Then, finding that it was about noon,
we decided to have lunch at the Redmond Bar and Grill. It was nice to
sit outside...we could hear lots of the noise of the event happening
around us. Steve Googled Derby days, found out there were criterion
races being held as part of the festival, so after lunch we headed back
to the cycle shop to get a good street side place to watch the Cat5
race. I'd not watched a race before and this was fun. There was a bit of
light rain which didn't last long and by the end of the race it was nice
again as we headed back to the SRT to head back into Seattle. First
though, before leaving the SRT we needed to stop for ice cream :) We
stopped into Woodinville Lavender. I used to work with the owner several
years ago at my current employer and wondered if I'd see him there. The
farm was setting up for an evening wedding. It's a really nice setting.
I did see Tom, we chatted a short while, and then it was time to ride
back to Seattle. There was one short bit of uphill right before getting
back to Steve's place (Ravenna Blvd) but thankfully I made it up without
stopping!

So this was a really, really fun day out. We took our time, just enjoyed
the cooler temperatures and the nice ride. Get's me wondering about
extending the trip next time and riding around Lake Sammamish as well...